Chapter 200: Yūmi Island (6)
Chapter 200: Yūmi Island (6)
“By the way… Mr. Matsudo, have you seen Uncle Kyotaro?”
Osawa Kyotaro’s public identity was Fang Jing’s cousin. Since this morning, Fang Jing had not seen him.
This made Fang Jing very puzzled.
He knew that Osawa’s hidden role was his “assistant” for this island trip.
Osawa Kyotaro was also his main source of information. Because Osawa worked as a university lecturer, he could quietly help Fang Jing understand the archaeological team’s situation.
“You said… Kyotaro? Which Kyotaro?”
“It’s Osawa Kyotaro.”
Associate Professor Matsudo, who was checking unearthed clay pottery fragments under a tent at the archaeological site, adjusted his glasses. He looked very confused.
“Kume, you said the name Osawa Kyotaro? Sorry, I don’t remember anyone with that name coming to the island. Is he a student from Yamaryo?”
Osawa was not a student of Yamaryo University; he was a lecturer. But just from Associate Professor Matsudo’s doubtful expression, Fang Jing knew his question was pointless.
He had asked several people already, and all of them had lost their memories related to Osawa Kyotaro.
On the other hand, his own identity seemed to have changed too.
Originally, he had come to the island as a distant relative of Osawa Kyotaro. Now, in everyone’s twisted memories, he had become a high school boy working a summer job on the island.
“But, Osawa hasn’t truly vanished.”
Fang Jing checked his Phone and found Osawa’s number was still saved.
He also sneaked into the room where Osawa and Matsudo stayed and found Osawa Kyotaro’s personal belongings.
“Physically, Osawa Kyotaro wasn’t cut off from this world. His everyday items were still in his room…”
Fang Jing picked up a notebook. It was the notebook Osawa Kyotaro used for his archaeological work. On the first page, the name “Osawa Kyotaro” was written.
“Yet, everyone acts as if they don’t see any of this…”
It was as if the information about Osawa had been erased from most people’s minds.
(The Cult was the same. His name was on the island arrival list, but unfortunately…)
Even if he showed them proof of Osawa Kyotaro’s existence, they would naturally filter it out in their minds.
No one even knew if Osawa was alive or dead.
Since he went missing last night, no one had seen or contacted him.
Fang Jing wasn’t foolish; he was usually very insightful. From the current situation, he believed Osawa Kyotaro’s disappearance probably had a “reason,” or perhaps it was a “sign.”
The only unfortunate thing was that he couldn’t figure out the “reason” for Osawa Kyotaro’s disappearance.
This island was very special, and it might be connected to paranormal events, so normal logic didn’t apply.
Thinking carefully, Fang Jing didn’t investigate openly.
He believed Osawa Kyotaro’s disappearance was likely related to supernatural phenomena. Since it was probably tied to a Strange Phenomenon, he thought he needed to handle it very carefully.
————————
On the third day of arriving on the island, Azasa lied about not feeling well and didn’t join the work at the archaeological site.
He felt low on energy, especially after the fight with his girlfriend Kanno. His mood had been terrible.
Earlier, he had caused a misunderstanding and became a laughingstock.
Azasa noticed privately that everyone was quietly laughing at the joke he caused.
This made him feel both ashamed and angry.
“I wasn’t wrong! I really saw it.”
Even now, Azasa didn’t think he had seen wrong.
He believed he hadn’t imagined it. At that time, near a corner of the Cliff bay, he had truly seen a rotting corpse.
It was a male corpse, half-submerged in the seawater. It looked like it had fallen from the cliff, was badly mangled, and a gruesome sight.
That thing, at a glance, was utterly dead—a putrid mass of flesh. Yet, at that very moment, the corpse twitched and started to climb up.
Azasa was terrified then.
Just finding a dead body was enough to make one’s hair stand on end, let alone seeing it twitch and crawl.
He almost didn’t think; he just turned and ran.
During that process, he also had no time to think about his beloved girlfriend.
(That’s human nature, right? I was too panicked, so I forgot Kanno there. I didn’t mean to leave her behind, and accidentally pushing and hurting her midway wasn’t my intention…)
Kanno’s leg sprain had completely healed.
Her injury wasn’t serious, so she recovered quickly. She was now with the others on the west side of the island, at the excavation site, doing research.
The whole ruins site wasn’t very big. It felt more like a visit than actual research.
Most things dug up from the island were clay pottery items. They had academic value but weren’t valuable.
Damn it! If I had known it would come to this, I would never have come to this island.
Thinking of this, he felt deeply annoyed, but time doesn’t flow backwards, and life gives no second chances.
Drip.
His eyes, previously closed, suddenly flew open.
The sound of water.
Was it his imagination? He faintly heard, as if from nearby, the sound of water droplets falling, like from a tap that wasn’t fully closed.
(Something… feels wrong. My room doesn’t have a bathroom or toilet, so why do I hear this sound?)
In an instant, his eyes widened. A drop of blood fell onto his face.
Above the ceiling, there used to be a pull-string for the light switch.
There should have been a small light bulb there.
It should have been off since it was daytime.
But when Azasa opened his eyes, everything was gone.
Only a bloody corpse hung above his head, floating near the ceiling—the bloody head, missing half, floated in the air. The pale, powerless face had a pair of blood-red eyes, staring fixedly at him.
The second missing person, Azasa, vanished in broad daylight. His disappearance didn’t cause any ripples.
No one noticed, as if everyone had forgotten Azasa existed.
————————
“I don’t know why… my memory has been pretty bad lately!”
Yuki Ham sat on the steps leading to the beach.
“I feel like my physical condition isn’t great either.”
Sitting with him was Ato Shiho. The two had been spending more time together recently, and their relationship had grown closer.
For some reason, ever since coming to this island, Yuki felt his head occasionally ached, and his memory often failed.
During work, he frequently made mistakes.
“Maybe it’s just too much anxiety? Is your mental state not good? Try getting more rest starting from today…”
Ato Shiho looked at him with concern.
“Probably not. My sleep quality is fine, no problems there.”
Yuki Ham opened the laptop on his knees and started browsing through the files on it.
One of his jobs was to take photos at the archaeological site and organize them properly.
As usual, he pulled up several sets of photos and began sorting them. Ato Shiho also came closer.
“Is this… the photos from the archaeological site?”
“Yes!”
He scrolled down page by page, and the photos also “slid” down from the corner of the screen.
“Huh? Isn’t this the group photo taken when we landed on the island?”
Ato Shiho lowered her head and glanced at it, then realized it was a group photo.
She remembered that the group from Yamaryo University had taken a set of group photos a few days ago when they landed on the island. Except for Professor Horikawa, who had arrived first, everyone else in the archaeology team was in this photo.
“This group photo of ten people is really nice…”
“…”
Wait, this photo… has ten people? That’s not right! Aren’t there twelve people in this photo?
Yuki Ham’s heart skipped a beat. A hint of doubt rose in his mind.
“You just said there are ten people in the photo, but that’s wrong… I clearly see twelve people in this photo!”
“Senior, what nonsense are you talking about?!”
Ato Shiho thought Yuki Ham was joking with her.
“There are only ten people here. If you don’t believe me, count them yourself!”
Count the people!
Right!
Yuki Ham silently read out the names of each person in the photo, starting from the first row.
“Sakuma, Kanno, Masaka, Kase…”
Following the order, he counted ten names in one breath, including himself and Yuki Ham, but he stopped when he reached the eleventh person.
“This… who is this person?”
In an instant, a strong sense of fear surged in Yuki Ham’s heart.
Among the twelve people in the photo, there were two unfamiliar faces—people he couldn’t recognize at all!
But how could this happen?
Everyone who landed on the island was from Yamaryo University.
So how could two strangers be included in such a group photo?
It didn’t make sense!
Such a bizarre and strange phenomenon was hard for him to understand at the moment, and he fell into deep confusion.
The place called the “Shrine” on Yūmi Island was actually the main building constructed by Shinzaki Tenrikyo on the island.
This was also the sacred sanctuary where the Founder, Hayashizaki Ichi, led his followers in quiet meditation. It was an important location strictly forbidden to outsiders.
As usual, a sacred ritual was being held.
A follower was tied to a chair that looked like an electric chair.
His hands and feet were strapped down with leather belts, and a circular metal device was placed on his head.
“Start it!”
Kuzunoki and Professor Horikawa stood to the side. Kuzunoki gave the order to the subordinate operating the machine, who then turned on the power.
With a strange “buzz” and flashes of electric sparks from the machine, the LED lights on the circular metal device on the follower’s head lit up one after another.
“Good, increase the current!”
Kuzunoki’s face was serious. He continued, “It’s not enough. To activate his third ‘eye’ and stimulate his cerebral cortex, we must increase the current!”
At that moment, one of the subordinates stood up and said in an uneasy tone, “But, Mr. Kuzunoki, Kawahira’s body might not be able to handle such stimulation.”
“Slap!”
Kuzunoki slapped him across the face, looking fierce and menacing as he said, “Shut up! This is not your place to speak. Increase the current now!”
The subordinates had no choice but to adjust the power level and continue the “stimulation.”
“Ahhhhhhhhh—!”
The tied-up follower let out a scream, his eyes rolled back, and drool dripped from the corner of his mouth. Suddenly, he passed out.
“Mr. Kuzunoki, this…”
Professor Horikawa also looked uneasy.
“Don’t worry, he’s fine.”
Kuzunoki waved his hand, and someone splashed a basin of water on the follower named “Kawahira.”
It took a while before he woke up.
As soon as he opened his eyes, they sparkled with energy. He shouted loudly.
“I saw it, I really saw it! It was the world of the gods. I could feel it—I connected with that world. The feeling was truly amazing.”
His face was filled with excitement, joy, and delight, like a child who had found a treasured toy.
“This… Mr. Kuzunoki, does this mean we succeeded?”
Professor Horikawa couldn’t quite believe it and asked doubtfully.
“No, this is not true success yet.”
Kuzunoki calmly said, “The time is not yet ripe, but it’s close. You’ve seen the miracle displayed by the Founder, haven’t you?”
“That was truly unbelievable!”
Professor Horikawa said in an admiring tone, “I must admit, it went beyond my understanding of scientific theory.”
“The Founder, as well as Hayasaka Taeko in our cult, both possess the ability to connect with the Higher Dimensions. The ritual we are performing now only allows that power to temporarily reside within us. To use it flexibly, the timing is not yet right.”
Kuzunoki patted the old man on the shoulder.
“But please believe us, Professor Horikawa. If you are willing to accept the cult and open your heart, what you gain will always exceed what you lose. Only we can bring the kingdom of God to this world.”